The Center on Friday introduced the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha after a select committee of the House reviewed an earlier version of the bill introduced last August.
The revised bill sought changes to provisions in about 80 laws, including the Indian Ports Act and the Merchant Shipping Act, which were introduced in 2025, the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Delhi Police Act, 1978 and the Municipal Corporations of Delhi Act, 1957.
“Through this Act, apart from decriminalizing several offenses across various enactments, it is proposed to amend 20 additional provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and 47 provisions of the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 to make life easier, which will serve as a significant step to save time and cost to all,” the Bill on Matters and Reasons said.
The proposed law also introduces a provision for an automatic 10% increase in fines and penalties every three years to maintain deterrence without the need for new legislative changes.
The bill retains key provisions from its earlier iteration in August 2025. The 2026 bill proposes to increase penalties for not keeping a dog on a leash in public, provide a 30-day grace period after a license expires, and relax vehicle registration rules under the Motor Vehicles Act — all retained from the earlier draft.
However, some provisions were removed in the new bill. An earlier bill of August 2025 proposed to remove section 27 of the MSME Development Act, which deals with minor penalties for small and medium enterprises (micro, small and medium enterprises), but the new 2026 bill does not amend the MSME Development Act of 2006.
“A web of antiquated rules and regulations is causing a trust deficit. The government’s drive was to achieve the principle of ‘Minimum Government and Maximum Governance’, redefining the country’s regulatory landscape under the Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business reforms,” it said in a statement of aims and reasons.
Decriminalization of minor offences
A select committee examined the bill and submitted its report to the Lok Sabha on 13 March. “Apart from the bill referred to, the honorable committee has recommended that several other laws be included in the framework of the bill,” the statement said.
Amendments to the Tea Act 1953, the Legal Metrology Act 2009, the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 have already been part of the 2023 exercise and are proposed for further decriminalisation.
According to a Commerce Department statement on the August 2025 Bill, the second iteration of the Jan Vishwas Act builds on the success of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act 2023 – the first consolidated legislation to systematically decriminalize minor offenses across multiple Acts.
The 2023 Act, notified on 11 August 2023, decriminalized 183 provisions in 42 Central Acts administered by 19 Ministries/Unions.
